02 September 2008

This is kind of exciting: Custom BrewCrafters has started bottling their beer. Located about a half hour's drive south of Rochester in Honeoye Falls, Custom BrewCrafters creates private label beers for many area restaurants and bars. Under their own name, they've also sold growlers at the brewery and a few other places. Only recently have they expanded their facilities for bottling.

This English-Style Pale Ale is "a well balanced amber ale with a smooth, dry finish," according to the label. Those expecting something like Sierra Nevada or Anchor Liberty will be disappointed. CB's brew leans more toward malt sweetness than hop bitterness, and the hops are herbal and floral. The malt base is slightly caramel or maybe toffee (and, admittedly, a touch watery), but the finish still pulls back dry. It's supposedly 5.1% ABV, but feels lighter. It's also quite low on carbonation by US standards (good!). This strikes me as a decent interpretation of the style, which isn't to say it's what American beer drinkers are yearning for. However, I like it, and am glad they went all English on us.

There's still the issue of the name. "Custom BrewCrafters" accurately depicts what the company originally set out to do, but is all wrong for a craft brewery. The label also calls it "CB's," which sounds like a forced nickname . But now that they're selling six packs, it's probably too late to change.

3 comments:

G'Day Buttle,This is a bit scary. I was just running the spell checker over a post about American style Pale Ales and the differences betwen them and the EPAs and then I find this! Beer Karma! I hope more craft brewers (resisted the temptation to say CBs!)get on to the EPAs as they suit a time and a mood and as long as people realise that they are supposed to differ from an APA they should not be disappointed. The more styles and types that people can choose from,the better the beer world gets!Cheers,Prof. Pilsner

The blog has been great for meeting people (I think I met you through the blog). I also find that writing about music makes me think about it in different ways. One must clarify one's thoughts before they can be written down. The blog has been good for that. 1693-Cuzco, Peru: Francisco Chihuantito's painting, The Virgin of Monserrat, located in the parochial church of Chichero, Cuzco, includes a depiction of a trombonist in a prominent position near the center of the painting. A cornetto player stands to the right of the trombonist, while two other similarly-dressed musicians, probably also cornetto players, stand behind (see below detail of trombonist; public domain image) (Velarde 82; Rosas 384). Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trombones